Welcome to day 13 of Insight Timers Strategies for Stress Challenge.
Let's take a moment to get settled.
Close your eyes,
Take a deep breath in,
And exhale out.
Let's dive in to today's strategy for stress.
Hello and welcome to Insight Timers Strategies for Stress Challenge.
I hope you are enjoying throughout this challenge the many learning strategies to not only help you handle stress in the short term,
But lifestyle changes and techniques you can make to shift your relationship with stress in the long term.
My name is Mark Coleman,
Founder of Awake in the Wild,
A nature meditation organization,
And today I'm introducing you to nature meditation and the vital role being mindful in nature plays when it comes to not just managing our stress,
But how to counteract that stress by increasing our well-being,
Peace,
And joy.
So how can mindfulness in nature help with our inner and outer stresses?
We all know intuitively that we feel better when we go outside,
Especially when we go into a natural setting,
A park,
Some woodlands,
Walk along a beach,
Sit upon a hill with a panoramic vista,
Or gaze at the sunset or a night sky.
We often immediately feel more relaxed,
More curious,
More connected with the life around us.
We can feel a sense of spaciousness as we step outside of the confines of our buildings and sense the vastness of the sky and space all around.
We also enter into a world that doesn't revolve around us.
We perhaps notice the seasons,
The weather patterns,
And the dynamism of the changing landscape and light,
And the more-than-human world,
The bird life,
The animal world.
In essence,
Being mindful in nature takes us out of our ruminating mind and taps us into the present moment that is alive,
Connected,
Engaging,
And often quite beautiful.
Bringing mindful awareness to our sensory experience is a profound doorway to be intimate with the natural world and receive the wisdom,
Wonder,
And blessing of nature.
And you don't just need to take my word for that.
There's also a tremendous amount of research that shows how significantly happier and healthier people are when they spend more time outdoors in nature.
Research has shown that the peaceful elements of nature can help us psychologically reduce our stress,
Recharge our cognitive energy,
Enhance our creativity,
And is restful for the brain.
Just the mere smell,
Sound,
Or sight of nature changes our brains and can improve our health and educational outcomes.
More time in nature,
Especially walking,
Lowers anxiety,
Reduces our blood pressure,
Our cortisol levels drop,
And we experience greater levels of well-being.
Even the substances emitted by plants and trees fight on sides,
Shown to have antibacterial and stress-reducing properties,
And increasing white blood cells,
Helping our immune system be stronger.
And it's not that we need to spend a year in the wilderness.
A little more than an hour a week in natural settings can be a tremendous boost to our emotional well-being and restoration.
And why is this?
We've evolved in nature for millions of years,
And only in the last few centuries,
Even the last few decades,
Have we moved indoors and now mostly gazed at screens,
And not the beauty of skies,
Forests,
And meadows.
It's as if our nervous systems relax when we go outside as they register a more familiar environment than being cramped indoors or in the bustle of a city.
In this session,
We'll explore how we can bring a natural quality of mindfulness and attentiveness to any natural environment,
Whether that's the simplicity of your own garden,
A nearby park,
Or by a stream,
Or a lake,
Or by the ocean.
Sensory awareness practice is a way that you can bring mindfulness into any natural setting.
Ideally,
You do this somewhere in nature where you feel safe and comfortable,
And connected to natural elements all around you.
Be it the beach,
In a forest,
In the mountains,
By a stream or pond,
Or even in a park or your own garden.
You can pre-listen to these instructions and put them into practice wherever you are in the natural world.
Or,
As I'll recommend,
You can follow this meditation by listening to these instructions on your phone or the headset once you've found the place you'd like to be mindful and cultivating sensory awareness in nature.
So let's begin this practice of sensory awareness in nature.
Beginning by finding a place outdoors where you feel comfortable,
Relaxed.
Find a comfortable seat where you can sit in relative stillness and ease for the next 10 minutes.
And then call to mind an intention to simply be present with whatever arises,
And to keep your attention oriented to the sensory present,
And to be open to what happens.
And in this practice,
We'll be letting the natural world guide us into the beauty of the present through our senses.
So as you find your meditation seat,
Whatever posture allows you to sit relatively upright,
Yet relaxed.
First,
Taking some moments to look around.
Simply gazing at the natural landscape around you.
Notice what allures your attention.
It's important as we enter into any landscape that we first practice arriving.
Arriving through our senses into this place,
This moment.
So as you look around,
And as you open up your senses,
Be curious.
What allures your attention here into the moment?
Perhaps it's the sense of space,
The sky above you,
The space all around you.
Perhaps it's the soundscape,
The ebb and flow of the symphony of sounds.
Perhaps what catches your attention is the fragrance and the scents of this earth and the trees and floor around you.
Or it may just be the shifting,
Moving light,
The breeze blowing the canopy and the leaves.
Letting your attention be naturally allured and drawn into the present.
No need to think about what you're taking in through your senses.
Simply receiving.
Being curious,
Open,
Receptive.
And then when you feel like you've sufficiently arrived in place,
And letting your eyes close or turning your gaze downwards,
And sensing the inner landscape,
Noticing the natural terrain of your body,
And feeling and sensing all the ways the body,
As an expression of the earth,
Is in contact with the earth under you.
Sensing that intimacy of connection through your feet and legs and sit bones.
Feel the sense of the earth supporting you,
Holding you,
And aware of all the ways the skin is in contact with the environment.
Noticing the breeze and the touch of the air on the skin,
The movement of warmth and coolness.
Notice how other parts of the body registers the space around you,
The movement of air,
The shift in temperature.
Begin to notice the movement of breath,
How the simple act of breathing connects us with all breathing life around us.
Each inhale,
Sensing the freshness of the air,
The fragrance,
Its moisture or dryness.
Inhaling oxygen released from the trees,
Grasses,
And plants around you.
Exhaling carbon dioxide reabsorbed by the same trees and grasses around you.
So you have the sense you are literally breathing with nature,
Always in connection.
Aware of the sensations in the body registering the sensory world around you.
Aware of the movement of breath connecting you with all photosynthesizing life.
Time's aware as you breathe in,
Aware of the scent and the fragrance in the air.
Now that also suggests or hints at what's present in the environment,
Continuing to register any impression of air,
The movement of breeze,
The ebb and flow of warmth and coolness.
Seeing how as we attune to our senses,
We attune to the sense of always being in connection with the world around us.
Now with the eyes closed,
Opening awareness to the soundscape,
To the symphony of sounds near and far.
To the silence from which the sounds emerge,
Aware of the whole panorama of sound,
Aware of discrete sounds.
No need to think about the sound or the source of it,
Simply aware of the sound itself,
Its vibration,
Sounds appearing and disappearing,
Resting in the stillness of awareness,
Present at the changing soundscape and all the changing sensory impressions,
Touch,
Breeze,
Light,
Smell.
Notice where your attention is drawn,
Is it to the sounds,
To the sensation of the earth under you,
To the movement of breath,
The shifting breeze,
The changing light.
And lastly when you're ready,
Although you're welcome to continue this practice for as long as feels comfortable,
You can gently open your eyes and then taking in this sensory landscape through the visual field.
Noticing the variety of colors and light,
Movement and how you may be perceiving differently after having been meditating for these last 10 minutes.
And so again letting your attention be allured to whatever draws you into the sensory experience around you.
And then we'll close the practice with just noticing if there's any sense of warmth or goodwill or gratitude in your heart for the beauty and the diversity of the natural world around you.
And then noticing the influence of this practice,
How did it make you feel in your body,
In your heart,
In your mind.
And know that you can bring this simple mindful presence into nature and making it part of your day.
This might be something as simple as pausing at sunrise or sunset and rest for a few minutes,
Taking in the beauty of the sky or gently strolling through a park or neighborhood,
Taking in nature's beauty.
Or sitting quietly in your garden with full sensory awareness of nature's gifts.
Feel free to share in the discussion forum some takeaways from this practice and how being mindful in nature supports or inspires something within you.
Perhaps an intention may come from this way of being.
And remember,
Nature is everywhere,
You are nature,
And the capacity to be aware is innate within you.
And when you combine this quality of awareness in nature,
So much joy,
Connection and peace is possible.
Thank you.
